This invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to latches for both holding together and separating the two parts of an electrical connector.
Electrical connectors for making large numbers of interconnections are used extensively in computers and other similar electronic apparatus. For example, although there is considerable variation in the known connector sizes, connectors for making 26 or more connections are very common. Each individual connection may be made by inserting a pin (male terminal) in a socket (female terminal), or by joining two identical "hermaphroditic" terminals. The connectors typically include two components: a header member and a connector member which is removably plugged into the header member along a connector axis. In a typical installation, the header member may be mounted on a printed circuit board or other similar element, and the connector member may be attached to the end of a multiple conductor cable. Many other aplications are known to those skilled in the art.
Although the connector may provide a large number of connections, the spacing between the individual connections is typically relatively small (e.g., approximately 0.1 inches). Thus the overall dimensions of the connector member and the header member are also relatively small. For example, the mating faces of the connector member and the header member may measure approximately 0.25 inches by 1.5 inches in a connector for making 26 connections in two parallel rows on 0.1 inch centers.
Considerable force may be required to plug the connector member into the header member in the above-described connectors because of the large number of electrical connections being made simultaneously. For the same reason, considerable force may be required to unplug the connector member from the header member. It is known to provide latches on the header member for releasably engaging a connector member to additionally secure the connector member to the header member. The known latches also cooperate with ejection surfaces on the connector member for separating the connector member from the header member when the latches are deliberately released. This greatly facilitates unplugging the connector member from the header member and eliminates the need for possibly destructive pulling on the relatively small connector elements or the components (e.g., cables or printed circuit boards) to which the connector elements are attached.
The known ejecting latches described above are confined to the area near the interface between the connector member and the header member. This interface may be relatively inaccessible, particularly in applications in which there are several closely spaced connectors.
It is therefore an object of this invention to improve ejecting latches for electrical connectors of the type described above.
It is another object of this invention to provide ejecting latches for electrical connectors which can be easily operated even where there are several closely spaced connectors.